Meeting To Tell Public About Tuberculosis

October 6, 1997|By Sherri M. Owens of The Sentinel Staff

An Orlando neighborhood west of South Orange Blossom Trail has reported more tuberculosis cases than any other area in Orange County.

Of the 104 cases in Orange County last year, 40 were reported in the Orlando-area ZIP code 32805. Experts say the high number results from the large population of susceptible people there - transients and the poor.

''For some reasons this affects people who live in poverty more frequently,'' said John Miller, a member of the Central Florida Tuberculosis Coalition steering committee. ''It may be a function of poor nourishment or more crowded living conditions.''

The coalition will lead a public meeting tonight, discussing ways to teach more people about the disease and to get more infected people treated. The coalition encourages church groups, civic organizations, health care professionals and residents to attend.

The meeting is at the John H. Jackson Community Center, 1002 W. Carter St. at 6 p.m. It was organized in part by Mercerdese Clark, a former nurse who in the 1960s had a tuberculosis caseload of more than 300 families.

''Nationwide we thought we had eradicated the disease,'' Clark said. ''Now, because of certain conditions existing with transient homeless we have an increase in the incidents.''

Tuberculosis is an infection that typically starts in the lungs but can move to other parts of the body. Symptoms include unexplained weight loss, night sweats, productive coughs, low-grade fever and sometimes chest pains.

The disease can be transmitted from person to person through the air, but it is not easily spread.

''The body has a pretty good mechanism to defend against tuberculosis,'' Miller said. ''A person who gets it gets it because of prolonged exposure. It depends on how infectious that person is and how susceptible the other person is.''

Despite the large number of cases in the Orlando neighborhood near Clear Lake, statistics show the number of cases countywide has been dropping.

In 1993 Orange County had 134 cases, and then 137 in 1994, according to the Florida AIDS, STD and TB Monthly Surveillance Report. The number dropped off significantly in 1995 to 119. Last year there were 104 cases.

Because Orange County has a large metropolitan area, it typically has more tuberculosis cases than other Central Florida counties, Miller said. But it has far fewer cases than larger counties such as Dade, which had 295 cases last year, and Broward, which had 142.